Two-day fiddle, picking championship begins tonight

OROVILLE — Upbeat music is sure to resonate in Oroville today as more than 200 musicians from throughout California gather at the Municipal Auditorium in Oroville for the 47th annual Open Fiddle and Picking Championship.

The contest runs today and Saturday and is sponsored by the California State Old-Time Fiddlers Association, District 1.

Early Thursday, a group of students from St. Thomas School helped set up the auditorium. Oroville Old-Time Fiddlers Association president Larry Jendro was also there preparing for the kickoff event, a country gospel jam held later in the evening.

Jendro said the annual championship is held in Oroville because the Fiddlers Association started in Oroville. It began in the 1960s and has grown to 12 districts stretching from Mount Shasta to San Diego.

He wasn't sure how the competition started, but gave an opinion.

"I can just imagine it was fiddlers, musicians, trying to get kids involved. They determined that along with content they could set goals and learn new tunes," Jendro said.

Jendro said the difference between fiddle and picking is that a fiddle is music played on a violin, and picking is done on guitar, banjo, mandolin and other stringed instruments.

Jendro began playing fiddle himself 10 years ago at the age of 59, when he first came to Oroville. At the time, his sister gave him a violin as a present. He found support in learning to fiddle from the association. Since then, he's competed three times, but gave that up a few years ago because of the work involved in organizing the event.

For the fiddle competition, musicians will each play three tunes, with very little time in between. They'll play a waltz, a "hoe-down" piece and another tune, all within four minutes, he said.

Jendro said he didn't know the details about the picking competition.

Rules are strict, and the judges will be situated in another room, unable to see any of the performers.

"It's blind judging," he said. "They know what tunes are going to play. That in itself is a complicated system, insuring the integrity of the contest."

In addition to the regular contest, there will be an event tonight called "Anything Goes," where any type of acoustical instrument can be played by an individual or group. The tunes don't have to fit into the criteria of "old-time fiddler," he said.

"Two years ago, it was won by a man playing a saw," Jendro recalled, smiling.

What stands out to him with the contest over the years is "watching the kids develop, the incredible things that young people can do."

"There's a little girl who started playing the fiddle the same time I did," he said. "I was 59 and she was 4. I have a wonderful memory of this little girl peeking around the corner as I was playing the fiddle. We looked at each other and smiled, because we're both fiddlers."

That child, Alison Woodruff, is a teenager now and has become a state champion fiddler, he added.

Jendro said putting on the Fiddle and Picking Championship is a difficult task.

He credited "wonderful volunteers" from districts throughout the state who come to Oroville and put the event together.

"It involves a lot of work and dedication," he said.

In addition to the music competition, the local Old-Time Fiddlers Association will provide breakfast, lunch and dinner at a reasonable price.

The contest is open and anyone can sign up and participate. Musicians must register 30 minutes before their event starts.

People from other states can also participate, but the California State Champions all have to be residents of the state.

Admission to the event is free, but donations will be accepted.

Reach Barbara Arrigoni at 533-3136, barrigoni@orovillemr.com, or on Twitter @OMRBarbara.